After more than six years of negotiations with the neighborhood and Safeway the Planning Commission yesterday approved a conditional use authorization allowing the teardown and rebuild of the Sunnyside Safeway. The authorization also includes street enhancements to Monterey Boulevard we negotiated to mitigate the expected increased traffic.

Once Safeway obtains building permits they plan to begin demolition in March. The shiny new store with a pharmacy, florist, Starbucks coffee cart and a service butcher is to be completed a year later.

The Friends of Monterey Blvd and Safeway have been negotiating for years about how to mitigate the traffic impacts associated with the upcoming remodel and today the fruits of that labor are here.

Originally, Safeway wanted to remove the median in front of the store so that large delivery trucks could back across four lanes into the loading dock. This is the only way groceries can be delivered. Trucks must exit the freeway at Monterey to get to the store.

In the final agreement Safeway will remove the three dead palms and install a “mountable” median that trucks will roll over to make the deliveries. They also propose to install three “bulb out” sidewalk extensions at the Monterey/Foerster intersection.

These extensions will add space for pedestrians as they walk to Sunnyside and St. Finn Barr Schoolsand reduce the crossing distances. Waiting for the bus will be and better experience too.

We think this plan will be the best way to deal with the expected increased traffic from the improved Safeway, while making our Boulevard a safer place for the people who live and work here. What do you think?